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Campaign For A Commercial Free Childhood

Campaign For A Commercial-Free Childhood is a national coalition of health care professionals, educators, advocacy groups and concerned parents who counter the harmful effects of marketing to children through action, advocacy, education, research, and collaboration. We support the rights of children to grow up and the rights of parents to raise them without being undermined by rampant commercialism. CCFC is headquartered at the NonProfit Center in Boston.

A new study of 400 children shows a negative relationship between hours of TV watched and self-esteem for everyone except white boys. However, not everyone is convinced self-esteem is all that important.

Today, CCFC, Public Citizen, and Corporate Accountability International launched a campaign urging PBS to end a four-year marketing agreement between the popular childrens show Martha Speaks and the fast food chain Chick-fil-A. The promotion includes 15-second ads for Chick-fil-A before and after Martha Speaks TV episodes; advertising on PBS Kids; and in-store giveaways at more than 1600 Chick-fil-A locations. And to make things even worse, PBS is using the success of its fast food campaign to attract other sponsors looking to target children; they've even nominated the Chick-fil-A campaign for a kids marketing award!

"The 19 editors of Vogue around the world made the promise Thursday, beginning with June issues and including editions in America, France, Britan and China. They also encouraged fashion designers to reconsider 'unrealistically' small sample sizes that make ultra-thin models necessary in the first place."

"As part of Screen-Free Week, which runs through Sunday and is sponsored by the nonprofit Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, YMCAs across the state are making an effort to promote physical activity."

"Screen-Free Week runs through May 6, and while it may be difficult, parents should not exempt themselves from the celebration. So, turn off those iPads, stash the mobile phones, and have a week of screen-free powered-down fun. We'll make an exception for Modern Parenthood."

"Nostalgic adults may look back fondly on jingles from their youth which implored them to buy a Slinky, a Barbie or an Action Man. But successive studies have shown that the commercialisation of childhood - not to mention the ever-present fear of pester power - are serious concerns for parents."

"New research presented April 29, at the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS) annual meeting in Boston shows that greater familiarity with fast-food restaurant advertising on television is associated with obesity in young people."

"At every level of government, the food and beverage industries won fight after fight during the last decade. They have never lost a significant political battle in the United States despite mounting scientific evidence of the role of unhealthy food and children's marketing in obesity."